JP5529233B2 - Water server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water server for supplying drinking water from a replaceable water bottle filled with drinking water such as mineral water.

  Conventionally, water servers have been used mainly in offices and hospitals, but in recent years, water servers are becoming widespread in ordinary households due to increasing interest in water safety and health. As such a water server, as shown in Patent Document 1, an exchangeable water bottle is set on the upper surface of a casing, and the drinking water filled in the water bottle is gravity-loaded in a cold water tank accommodated in the casing. What is made to fall is generally known.

  Here, the water bottle has a hollow cylindrical body part, a bottom part provided at one end of the body part, and a neck part provided at the other end of the body part via a shoulder part. There is an exit. The water bottle is set in the water server with the neck portion facing downward so that the water outlet comes to the lowest position of the water bottle. Moreover, the trunk | drum of a water bottle is formed with the softness | flexibility so that it may shrink | contract as the amount of residual water decreases.

  By the way, since the water bottle of patent document 1 has the water bottle set in the upper surface of a housing | casing, when exchanging a water bottle, it is necessary to lift the water bottle of a full water state high. However, a full water bottle usually contains about 10 to 12 liters of drinking water and has a weight of 10 kg or more. For this reason, water bottle replacement work has been difficult for water server users (especially women and elderly people).

  Therefore, in order to make it easy to replace the water bottle, the inventor of the present invention examined setting the water bottle in the lowest possible portion of the water server. When the position of the water bottle is lowered, it is not necessary to lift the water bottle high when setting a full water bottle having a considerable weight to the water server, so that the water bottle can be easily replaced.

JP 2008-273605 A

  When the water bottle is arranged in a low part of the water server, the height of the water bottle relative to the cold water tank is lowered, and it becomes difficult to supply the drinking water filled in the water bottle to the cold water tank due to gravity drop. Therefore, in order to be able to supply drinking water from the water bottle to the cold water tank, it is necessary to provide a pump for pumping drinking water from the water bottle in the water server.

  Here, the inventor of the present invention adopts a water bottle that contracts as the amount of remaining water decreases, and if the water server is provided with a pump that draws drinking water from the water bottle, Since it is not necessary to place the water outlet at the lowest position of the water bottle as it is dropped, the water bottle is placed sideways when the water bottle is set in the water server (i.e., the neck of the water bottle is oriented horizontally). We focused on the point where it was possible to

  When the water bottle is placed sideways, the degree of freedom in designing the water server increases. For example, the end of the raw water pumping pipe is fixed in the housing of the water server, while the bottle receiver is supported so as to be slidable horizontally. It becomes possible to connect to the end.

  However, the inventor of the present invention conducted an experiment to pump out the drinking water of the water bottle placed sideways in order to confirm whether the posture of the water bottle can actually be turned sideways. However, when the drinking water inside the water bottle decreases and the water bottle contracts, there is a problem that the drinking water tends to remain in the region along the mounting surface of the water bottle and the remaining water amount increases when the water bottle is replaced. I found out. This will be described below.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when a full water bottle 4 is placed on a bottle placement plate 54 having a flat upper surface, depending on the weight of the drinking water inside the water bottle 4, The part of the body 40 of the bottle 4 that is in contact with the bottle mounting plate 54 is stretched. Therefore, even if the drinking water inside the water bottle 4 is pumped out by the pump 7 and the inside of the water bottle 4 is depressurized, the portion of the body portion 40 of the water bottle 4 that contacts the bottle mounting plate 54 is not easily deformed. As a result, even if the water bottle 4 contracts, drinking water tends to remain in the region along the bottle mounting plate 54, and the amount of remaining water increases when the water bottle 4 is replaced (when it is large, about 400 to 500 cc remains). Is).

  In particular, this problem is likely to occur when a water bottle is formed of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET) having higher bending elasticity than polyethylene resin (PE) or the like used for the bag portion of the bag-in-box.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a water server capable of pumping out the drinking water inside the water bottle as far as possible with the neck of the water bottle oriented horizontally.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a hollow cylindrical body part formed with flexibility so as to shrink as the amount of residual water decreases, a bottom part provided at one end of the body part, and the body part An exchangeable water bottle having a neck provided on the other end of the neck via a shoulder, and a water outlet provided on the neck.
With the neck of the water bottle oriented horizontally, a bottle receiver having a bottle mounting plate that supports the body of the water bottle from below;
Raw water pumping pipe connected to the water outlet of the water bottle;
About a water server that is provided in the raw water pumping pipe and has a pump that draws drinking water from the water bottle,
The water server has a configuration in which a convex portion is provided on the upper surface of the bottle mounting plate for inducing that the portion of the body of the water bottle that contacts the bottle mounting plate is folded inward when the water bottle contracts. It was.

  In this way, when a full water bottle is placed on the bottle placement plate, the portion of the body of the water bottle that is in contact with the bottle placement plate is bent by the convex portion and does not stretch. Therefore, when the drinking water inside the water bottle is pumped out by the pump, the portion of the body portion of the water bottle that contacts the bottle mounting plate is deformed so as to be folded inward by the reduced pressure inside the water bottle. As a result, when the water bottle contracts, it becomes difficult for the drinking water to remain in the region along the bottle mounting plate, and the amount of remaining water when the water bottle is replaced can be suppressed.

  As the convex portion, for example, one formed so as to extend across the center of the body portion of the water bottle can be adopted.

  Further, on the upper surface of the convex portion, a slope that descends from the top of the convex portion to the water outlet side of the water bottle and a slope that descends from the top of the convex portion to the side opposite to the water outlet of the water bottle are formed, and the convex portion It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the inclination angle of the slope that descends from the top of the water bottle to the opposite side of the water outlet of the water bottle is set to 30 ° or less. In this way, when the drinking water inside the water bottle is pumped out from the water outlet and the water bottle contracts, the situation where the deformed water bottle is caught on the convex portion and prevents the water bottle from contracting is prevented. Can do.

  The problem that a large amount of drinking water remains in the area along the bottle mounting plate when the water bottle contracts is likely to occur particularly when the water bottle is formed of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET) having a relatively high bending elasticity. . Therefore, the present invention is particularly effective when the body portion of the water bottle is formed of PET resin.

  In the water server of the present invention, when a full water bottle is placed on the bottle placing plate, the portion of the body of the water bottle that contacts the bottle placing plate is bent by the convex portion, and is stretched. Absent. Therefore, when the drinking water inside the water bottle is pumped out by the pump, the portion of the body portion of the water bottle that contacts the bottle mounting plate is deformed so as to be folded inward by the reduced pressure inside the water bottle. Therefore, when the water bottle contracts, it becomes difficult for the drinking water to remain in the area along the bottle mounting plate, and the drinking water inside the water bottle can be pumped out to the end as much as possible.

Sectional drawing which looked at the water server of this embodiment from the side Enlarged view of the vicinity of the bottle receiver in FIG. Sectional view along line III-III in FIG. The figure which shows the state which pulled out the bottle receiver shown in FIG. 2 from the housing | casing. Enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the joint in FIG. The expanded sectional view which shows the process of connecting a water bottle to the joint part shown in FIG. The expanded sectional view which shows the state which the stopper of the water outlet of the water bottle contacted the joint part shown in FIG. The figure which shows the state which the water bottle shown in FIG. 2 shrinks gradually The figure which shows the state which a water bottle shrink | contracts gradually when not providing a convex part in the bottle receptacle shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the sterilization driving | running state of the water server shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the other example of the water server shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a water server according to an embodiment of the present invention. This water server includes a vertically long casing 1, a cold water tank 2 and a hot water tank 3 accommodated in the upper part of the casing 1, a replaceable water bottle 4 accommodated in the lower part of the casing 1, and a water bottle 4. A bottle receiver 5 for placing the water, a raw water pumping pipe 6 communicating between the water bottle 4 and the cold water tank 2, a pump 7 provided in the raw water pumping pipe 6, a cold water tank 2 and a hot water tank 3 And a tank connection path 8 to be connected. The cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3 are arranged side by side so that the hot water tank 3 is positioned below the cold water tank 2.

  The housing 1 includes a bottom plate 9, a peripheral wall 10 rising from the periphery of the bottom plate 9, and a top plate 11 provided at the upper end of the peripheral wall 10. An opening 12 for taking in and out the water bottle 4 and a front door 13 for opening and closing the opening 12 are provided at the lower front portion of the peripheral wall 10.

  One end of the raw water pumping pipe 6 is connected to a joint portion 15 attached to and detached from the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4, and the other end of the raw water pumping pipe 6 is connected to the cold water tank 2. The raw water pumping pipe 6 is provided to extend downward from the joint portion 15 so as to pass through a position lower than the joint portion 15 and then turn upward. And the pump 7 is arrange | positioned in the part lower than the joint part 15 of the raw | natural water pumping pipe 6. FIG.

  The pump 7 transfers the drinking water in the raw water pumping pipe 6 from the water bottle 4 side to the cold water tank 2 side. A diaphragm pump can be used as the pump 7. The diaphragm pump is a drive device that reciprocates a diaphragm (not shown), a pump chamber whose volume is increased or decreased by the reciprocation of the diaphragm, and an intake that allows only the flow in the direction of flowing into the pump chamber. It comprises a side check valve and a discharge side check valve that is arranged at the discharge port of the pump chamber and allows only the flow in the direction of flowing out of the pump chamber.

  A flow rate sensor 16 is provided on the discharge side of the pump 7 of the raw water pumping pipe 6. The flow sensor 16 can detect the state when the flow of drinking water in the raw water pumping pipe 6 is lost during the operation of the pump 7.

  A first switching valve 17 is provided between the joint portion 15 of the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the pump 7. In the drawing, the first switching valve 17 is disposed at a position away from the joint portion 15, but the first switching valve 17 may be directly connected to the joint portion 15. A first bypass pipe 18 communicating with the hot water tank 3 is connected to the first switching valve 17. The end of the first bypass pipe 18 on the warm water tank 3 side is connected to the upper surface of the warm water tank 3.

  The first switching valve 17 communicates between the joint portion 15 and the pump 7 and disconnects between the first bypass pipe 18 and the pump 7 (see FIG. 1), and the joint portion 15 and the pump 7. And the flow path can be switched between a sterilization operation state (see FIG. 10) in which the first bypass pipe 18 and the pump 7 communicate with each other.

  A second switching valve 19 for hot water sterilization is provided at the end of the raw water pumping pipe 6 on the cold water tank 2 side. A second bypass pipe 20 that communicates with the hot water tank 3 is connected to the second switching valve 19. The end of the second bypass pipe 20 on the warm water tank 3 side is connected to the lower surface of the warm water tank 3. Further, a drain pipe 21 extending to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the second bypass pipe 20. The outlet of the drain pipe 21 is closed with a plug 22. An on-off valve may be provided instead of the plug 22.

  The second switching valve 19 communicates between the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the cold water tank 2 and is in a normal operation state in which the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the second bypass pipe 20 are blocked (see FIG. 1). Switching between the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the cold water tank 2 and switching the flow path between the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the sterilization operation state (see FIG. 10) communicating between the second bypass pipe 20. It is configured to be able to.

  In the figure, an example is shown in which the first switching valve 17 and the second switching valve 19 are each constituted by a single three-way valve, but a switching valve having the same action is configured by combining a plurality of on-off valves. May be.

  The cold water tank 2 contains air and drinking water in upper and lower layers. The cold water tank 2 is attached with a cooling device 23 that cools the drinking water stored in the cold water tank 2. A baffle plate 24 that partitions the inside of the cold water tank 2 up and down is provided in the cold water tank 2. The cooling device 23 is arranged on the outer periphery of the lower part of the cold water tank 2 and keeps the drinking water below the baffle plate 24 in the cold water tank 2 at a low temperature (about 5 ° C.).

  A water level sensor 25 is attached to the cold water tank 2 for detecting the level of drinking water accumulated in the cold water tank 2. When the water level detected by the water level sensor 25 decreases, the pump 7 operates in accordance with the decrease in the water level, and drinking water is supplied from the water bottle 4 to the cold water tank 2. When the drinking water is supplied from the water bottle 4 to the cold water tank 2, the baffle plate 24 is cooled by the cooling device 23 and the low temperature drinking water accumulated in the lower part of the cold water tank 2 is transferred from the water bottle 4 to the cold water tank 2. Prevents stirring with room temperature drinking water supplied inside. The baffle plate 24 has a cylindrical hanging wall 26 extending downward from the outer peripheral edge thereof, and holds air in a region surrounded by the hanging wall 26, so that the baffle plate 24 is positioned between the upper side and the lower side of the baffle plate 24. Increases thermal insulation effect.

  Connected to the bottom surface of the cold water tank 2 is a cold water pouring path 27 for pouring out low-temperature drinking water accumulated in the lower part of the cold water tank 2 to the outside. The cold water pouring channel 27 is provided with a cold water cock 28 that can be operated from the outside of the housing 1. By opening the cold water cock 28, low-temperature drinking water can be poured from the cold water tank 2 into a cup or the like. Yes. The capacity of the cold water tank 2 is smaller than the capacity of the water bottle 4 and is about 2 to 4 liters.

  At the center of the baffle plate 24, an upper end of a tank connection path 8 that connects the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3 is opened. The end of the tank connection path 8 on the cold water tank 2 side allows drinking water to flow from the cold water tank 2 side to the hot water tank 3 side, and drinking water from the hot water tank 3 side to the cold water tank 2 side. A check valve 29 for restricting the flow is provided. The check valve 29 prevents hot drinking water in the hot water tank 3 from flowing into the cold water tank 2 due to heat convection and prevents energy loss in the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3.

  The hot water tank 3 is in a state filled with drinking water. A heating device 39 for heating the drinking water in the hot water tank 3 is attached to the hot water tank 3 so as to keep the drinking water in the hot water tank 3 at a high temperature (about 90 ° C.). In the figure, an example in which a sheath heater is adopted as the heating device 39 is shown, but a band heater can also be adopted. The sheath heater contains a heating wire that generates heat when energized in a metal pipe, and is attached so as to extend through the wall surface of the hot water tank 3. The band heater is a cylindrical heating element in which a heating wire that generates heat when energized is embedded, and is attached in close contact with the outer periphery of the hot water tank 3.

  An air sterilization chamber 31 is connected to the cold water tank 2 via an air introduction path 30. The air sterilization chamber 31 includes a hollow case 33 in which an air intake port 32 is formed, and an ozone generator 34 provided in the case 33. As the ozone generator 34, for example, a low-pressure mercury lamp that irradiates oxygen in the air with ultraviolet rays to change the oxygen into ozone, or an alternating voltage is applied between a pair of opposed electrodes covered with an insulator, between the electrodes. A silent discharge device that changes oxygen into ozone can be used. The air sterilization chamber 31 is always in a state where ozone is accumulated in the case 33 by energizing the ozone generator 34 at regular intervals to generate ozone.

  The air introduction path 30 introduces air into the cold water tank 2 in accordance with a drop in the water level in the cold water tank 2 to keep the inside of the cold water tank 2 at atmospheric pressure. At this time, since the air introduced into the cold water tank 2 passes through the air sterilization chamber 31 and is sterilized with ozone, the air in the cold water tank 2 is kept clean.

  In the cold water tank 2, a diffusion plate 35 is provided for diffusing the flow of drinking water until the drinking water fed from the raw water pumping pipe 6 reaches the surface of the drinking water accumulated in the cold water tank 2. . By providing this diffusing plate 35, the drinking water comes into contact with the ozone in the air in the cold water tank 2 (that flows into the cold water tank 2 from the air sterilization chamber 31) over a wide area, and the beverage in the cold water tank 2 Improves water hygiene.

  The tank connection path 8 includes an in-tank pipe 36 that extends downward from the upper surface of the hot water tank 3 to the inside of the hot water tank 3. The lower end of the tank internal pipe 36 is open near the bottom surface of the hot water tank 3. Thereby, the rising flow of the high-temperature drinking water heated by the heating device 39 is prevented from flowing directly into the lower end opening of the in-tank pipe 36.

  Connected to the upper surface of the hot water tank 3 is a hot water pouring path 37 for pouring hot drinking water accumulated in the upper part of the hot water tank 3 to the outside. The hot water pouring channel 37 is provided with a hot water cock 38 that can be operated from the outside of the housing 1. By opening the hot water cock 38, hot drinking water can be poured from the hot water tank 3 into a cup or the like. Yes. When drinking water is poured out from the hot water tank 3, the same amount of drinking water flows from the cold water tank 2 into the hot water tank 3 through the tank connection path 8, so that the hot water tank 3 is always kept full. Be drunk. The capacity of the hot water tank 3 is about 1 to 2 liters.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the water bottle 4 is provided with a hollow cylindrical body 40, a bottom 41 provided at one end of the body 40, and a shoulder 42 at the other end of the body 40. The neck 43 is provided with a water outlet 14. A flange 44 is formed on the outer periphery of the neck portion 43. The body 40 of the water bottle 4 is formed with flexibility so that the water bottle 4 contracts as the amount of remaining water decreases. The water bottle 4 is formed by blow molding of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET). The capacity of the water bottle 4 is about 10 to 20 liters when the water bottle is full.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a cap 45 is attached to the tip of the neck 43 of the water bottle 4. In the center of the cap 45, an inner cylinder 46 is formed that is open at both ends extending in parallel with the neck portion 43 toward the inside of the water bottle 4. A region inside the inner cylinder 46 forms a water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4, and a plug 47 is detachably fitted into the water outlet 14. The cap 45 is formed by injection molding of polyethylene resin (PE).

  As shown in FIG. 6, a step portion 48 having a smaller diameter toward the inside of the water bottle 4 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 46. The plug body 47 has a cylindrical portion 49, a closed end portion 50 formed at one end of the cylindrical portion 49, and a claw portion 51 formed along the inner periphery of the other end of the cylindrical portion 49. It is. The plug body 47 is fitted to the inner cylinder 46 so as to open toward the outside of the water bottle 4. On the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 49, a protrusion 52 that is engaged with the stepped portion 48 of the inner cylinder 46 is formed. An opposing piece 53 is formed at the inner end of the water bottle 4 of the cylindrical portion 49 so as to face the end of the inner cylinder 46 in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the body 40 of the water bottle 4 has a square tube shape with a square cross section. The bottle receiver 5 includes a bottle mounting plate 54 that supports the water bottle 4 from below, a side plate 55 that is positioned on the left and right sides of the water bottle 4, a front plate 56 that is positioned in front of the water bottle 4, And a rear plate 57 located behind the bottle 4. Here, in the front-rear direction, the front side is the front and the back side is the rear as viewed from the user standing toward the water server. The bottle receiver 5 is supported by a pair of left and right slide rails 60 extending in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the slide rail 60 includes a fixed-side rail 61 that is fixed to the bottom plate 9 of the housing 1 and extends in the front-rear direction, an intermediate rail 62 that is slidably supported by the fixed-side rail 61, and an intermediate rail 62. The moving side rail 63 is slidably supported on the moving side rail 63. The moving rail 63 is fixed to the bottle mounting plate 54 of the bottle receiver 5. The bottle receiver 5 is configured such that the three rails 61, 62, 63 constituting the slide rail 60 slide relative to each other so that the water bottle 4 is accommodated in the housing 1 (position in FIG. 2), It can move horizontally between the drawer position (position of FIG. 4) from which the water bottle 4 comes out of the housing 1.

  The water bottle 4 is placed on the bottle receiver 5 with the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 facing in the moving direction of the bottle receiver 5 (rearward here) when the bottle receiver 5 moves from the drawing position to the storage position. ing. Here, the water bottle 4 has a posture in which the neck portion 43 is oriented horizontally.

  The joint portion 15 is disconnected from the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 when the bottle receiver 5 is moved to the drawing position as shown in FIG. 4, and the bottle receiver 5 is moved to the accommodation position as shown in FIG. It is fixed in the housing 1 so as to be connected to the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 when it is made to move.

  The front door 13 of the housing 1 is fixed to the bottle receiver 5 so as to slide integrally with the bottle receiver 5. Therefore, when the operation of opening the opening 12 by pulling the front door 13 to the front is performed, the bottle receiver 5 is pulled out from the housing 1 in conjunction with this. In addition, when the operation of closing the opening 12 by pushing the front door 13 back is performed, the bottle receiver 5 is accommodated in the housing 1 in conjunction with this operation.

  A wheel 64 that is in rolling contact with the mounting surface of the housing 1 is attached to the lower portion of the front door 13. The wheel 64 supports the load when a load (for example, the weight of the full water bottle 4 or the weight of a person) is applied to the bottle receiver 5 with the bottle receiver 5 pulled out from the housing 1. The casing 1 is prevented from falling. The bottom plate 9 of the housing 1 is formed with a recess 65 for accommodating the wheel 64.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a convex portion 66 extending across the center of the body portion 40 of the water bottle 4 is provided on the upper surface of the bottle mounting plate 54. On the upper surface of the convex portion 66, a slope 67 that descends from the top of the convex portion 66 toward the water outlet 14 and a slope 68 that descends from the top of the convex portion 66 to the opposite side of the water outlet 14 are formed. The slope 68 on the side opposite to the water outlet 14 is formed so that the slope is gentler than the slope 67 on the water outlet 14 side. The inclination angle of the slope 68 is set to be 30 ° or less.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rear plate 57 of the bottle receiver 5 is formed with a notch 70 that opens to the upper edge of the rear plate 57. The notch 70 is fitted to the outer periphery of the neck portion 43 of the water bottle 4 continuously from the introduction portion 71 whose width gradually decreases from the upper edge of the rear plate 57 to the lower side and the lower side of the introduction portion 71. It consists of a semicircular restraint 72. The restraint portion 72 is fitted to a portion of the neck portion 43 closer to the body portion 40 than the flange 44.

  The restricting portion 72 is formed in an arc shape having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the flange 44 of the neck portion 43 of the water bottle 4. When the water bottle 4 is connected to the joint part 15 by fitting the restraint part 72 on the outer periphery of the neck part 43 and positioning the neck part 43 in the radial direction, the position of the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is the joint part. This prevents the 15 position from shifting. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the restraining portion 72 is engaged with the flange 44 of the neck portion 43 to position the neck portion 43 in the axial direction, so that the restraining portion 72 is detached from the joint portion 15 of the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4. The movement is restrained.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the joint portion 15 is a horizontally extending cylindrical body formed so as to be fitted to the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4. The joint portion 15 includes a straight portion 73 having a cylindrical outer periphery and a hemispherical tip portion 74. The diameter of the straight part 73 is set to a size that fits the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 (that is, the inner cylinder 46) with a tightening margin. The straight portion 73 is formed with a water passage hole 75 that opens into the water bottle 4 in a state where the joint portion 15 is fitted to the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4. The water passage hole 75 is provided only in the lower half area of the joint portion 15 and does not exist in the upper half area.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a through hole 76 that penetrates the joint portion 15 inward and outward is formed at the center of the distal end portion 74. The diameter of the through hole 76 is set to 1.0 mm or less. Further, on the outer periphery of the joint portion 15, a circumferential groove 77 is formed at the boundary position between the straight portion 73 and the tip portion 74 to engage the claw portion 51 of the plug body 47.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an ultraviolet light emitting portion 78 is provided at the base of the joint portion 15. The ultraviolet light emitting unit 78 sterilizes the drinking water inside the joint unit 15 and the inner surface of the joint unit 15 by irradiating ultraviolet rays. As the ultraviolet light emitting unit 78, an ultraviolet LED or a mercury lamp can be used.

  The joint portion 15 is fixed to a cup portion 80 provided so as to surround the joint portion 15. The cup part 80 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape that opens toward the water bottle 4, and the joint part 15 passes through the bottom part. At the opening edge of the cup portion 80, a tapered surface 81 is formed that expands toward the water bottle 4. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 4, the taper surface 81 is provided even when the neck 43 of the water bottle 4 is displaced from the joint portion 15 when the water bottle 4 is accommodated in the housing 1. Is directed toward the joint portion 15.

  Although a silicon tube can be used as the raw water pumping pipe 6, since silicon has oxygen permeability, various bacteria can easily propagate in the raw water pumping pipe 6 due to oxygen in the air that permeates silicon. There is a problem. Therefore, the raw water pumping pipe 6 can be a metal pipe (for example, a stainless steel pipe or a copper pipe). If it does in this way, it will become possible to prevent that air permeate | transmits the pipe wall of the raw | natural water pumping pipe | tube 6, and to proliferate the germs in the raw | natural water pumping pipe | tube 6 effectively. Moreover, the heat resistance at the time of warm water circulation is also securable. Even if a polyethylene tube or a heat-resistant rigid polyvinyl chloride pipe is used as the raw water pumping pipe 6, air can be prevented from permeating through the wall of the raw water pumping pipe 6 to propagate various bacteria in the raw water pumping pipe 6. Can be prevented.

  The usage example of the water server mentioned above is demonstrated.

  In the normal operation state shown in FIG. 1, when a user of the water server operates the cold water cock 28 to pour out low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank 2 into a cup or the like, the water level in the cold water tank 2 decreases. Further, even if the hot water cock 38 is operated and hot drinking water in the hot water tank 3 is poured into a cup or the like, the same amount of drinking water as that drinking water passes from the cold water tank 2 through the tank connection path 8. Since it is introduced into the hot water tank 3, the water level in the cold water tank 2 is lowered. Then, when the water level sensor 25 detects that the water level in the cold water tank 2 has fallen below a preset lower limit water level, the pump 7 operates to draw drinking water from the water bottle 4 into the cold water tank 2.

  And with the use of the drinking water in the cold water tank 2 or the hot water tank 3, the drinking water in the water bottle 4 gradually decreases and becomes empty. When the water bottle 4 is empty, the flow of drinking water in the raw water pumping pipe 6 is lost despite the pump 7 being operated. 1 is turned on to notify the user that it is time to replace the water bottle 4.

  When the water bottle 4 is in an empty state, the user performs the replacement operation of the water bottle 4 as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the front door 13 is pulled forward, and the bottle receiver 5 is pulled out from the housing 1. At this time, since the water bottle 4 moves integrally with the bottle receiver 5, the water bottle 4 is pulled out from the joint portion 15 fixed in the housing 1. Then, the empty water bottle 4 is taken out from the bottle receiver 5. Thereafter, the neck portion 43 of the water bottle 4 in a full state is placed on the bottle receiver 5 in a sideways state. At this time, the neck 43 of the water bottle 4 is fitted into the notch 70 of the bottle receiver 5. Finally, the front door 13 is pushed to accommodate the bottle receiver 5 in the housing 1. At this time, since the water bottle 4 moves integrally with the bottle receiver 5, the water bottle 4 is connected to the joint portion 15 fixed in the housing 1.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 8, the water bottle 4 contracts by atmospheric pressure as the drinking water inside is pumped out by the pump 7. At this time, since the water server is provided with the convex portion 66 on the bottle mounting plate 54 of the bottle receiver 5, the portion of the body portion 40 of the water bottle 4 that contacts the bottle mounting plate 54 is deformed inward. The drinking water inside the water bottle 4 can be pumped out as much as possible.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the upper surface of the bottle mounting plate 54 is formed flat and the convex portion 66 is not provided, when the full water bottle 4 is mounted on the bottle mounting plate 54. The portion of the body 40 of the water bottle 4 in contact with the bottle mounting plate 54 is stretched by the weight of the drinking water inside the water bottle 4. Therefore, even if the drinking water inside the water bottle 4 is pumped out by the pump 7 and the inside of the water bottle 4 is depressurized, the portion of the body portion 40 of the water bottle 4 that contacts the bottle mounting plate 54 is not easily deformed. Further, the shoulder portion 42 of the water bottle 4 is not easily deformed because the neck portion 43 is restrained by the restraining portion 72 of the rear plate 57. Therefore, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 9, when the water bottle 4 contracts, the upper portion and the bottom portion 41 of the body 40 of the water bottle 4 are preferentially deformed. As a result, even if the water bottle 4 contracts, there is a problem that drinking water tends to remain in the region along the bottle mounting plate 54 and the amount of remaining water increases when the water bottle 4 is replaced (when the water bottle 4 is large, 400 to 400- 500cc may remain).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, when the convex portion 66 is provided on the upper surface of the bottle placing plate 54 of the bottle receiver 5, the water bottle 4 is placed when the full water bottle 4 is placed on the bottle receiver 5. The portion of the body portion 40 in contact with the bottle mounting plate 54 is bent along the convex portion 66 and does not stretch. Therefore, when the drinking water inside the water bottle 4 is pumped out by the pump 7, the portion of the body 40 of the water bottle 4 that comes into contact with the bottle mounting plate 54 is folded inside due to the reduced pressure inside the water bottle 4. (See the chain line in FIG. 8). As a result, when the water bottle 4 contracts, it becomes difficult for the drinking water to remain in the region along the bottle mounting plate 54, and the amount of remaining water when the water bottle 4 is replaced can be suppressed.

  Here, when the water bottle 4 contracts, there is a possibility that the deformed water bottle 4 is caught by the convex portion 66 and the water bottle 4 is prevented from contracting, but in the above embodiment, the slope 68 of the convex portion 66 By setting the inclination gently, a situation where the water bottle 4 is caught on the convex portion 66 is prevented.

  Moreover, when the bottle receiver 5 is pulled out from the housing 1, the water bottle 4 is separated from the end of the raw water pumping pipe 6, and when the bottle receiver 5 is accommodated in the housing 1, A water bottle 4 is connected to the end of the raw water pumping pipe 6. That is, it is not necessary for the raw water pumping pipe 6 to follow the movement of the bottle receiver 5. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the raw water pumping pipe 6 and prevent germs from breeding in the raw water pumping pipe 6.

  In addition, since the above-mentioned water server does not require the raw water pumping pipe 6 to follow the movement of the bottle receiver 5, it is not necessary to use a spiral tube or a flexible tube as the raw water pumping pipe 6. It is possible to adopt a hard material. Therefore, it is possible to use a metal pipe (stainless steel pipe, copper pipe, etc.) having extremely excellent oxygen barrier properties and heat resistance as the raw water pumping pipe 6.

  In addition, the water server described above can sterilize the raw water pumping pipe 6 by periodically performing a sterilization operation, thereby ensuring hygiene over a long period of time. This sterilization operation will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 10, the first switching valve 17 is switched to communicate between the first bypass pipe 18 and the pump 7, and the second switching valve 19 is switched to switch the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the second switching valve 19. The bypass pipes 20 communicate with each other. Then, the pump 7 is operated. Thereby, hot drinking water in the hot water tank 3 passes through the first bypass pipe 18, the first switching valve 17, the raw water pumping pipe 6, the second switching valve 19, and the second bypass pipe 20 in this order, and the hot water tank 3. Return to. That is, hot drinking water in the hot water tank 3 circulates through the raw water pumping pipe 6. At this time, the temperature of the circulating drinking water can be kept at a high temperature suitable for sterilization by energizing the heating device 39 of the hot water tank 3. As described above, the drinking water inside the raw water pumping pipe 6, the inner surface of the raw water pumping pipe 6, and the inside of the pump 7 can be thermally sterilized.

  After the sterilization operation is finished, the pump 7 is stopped, and as shown in FIG. 1, the first switching valve 17 is switched to communicate between the joint portion 15 and the pump 7 and the second switching valve 19 is switched. Then, the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the cold water tank 2 are communicated to return to the normal operation state.

  Here, before returning to the normal operation state after the sterilization operation is completed, the first switching valve 17 is set to the sterilization operation state in which the first bypass pipe 18 and the pump 7 are communicated, while the second switching valve 19 is switched. Is in a normal operation state in which the raw water pumping pipe 6 and the cold water tank 2 communicate with each other, and the pump 7 can be operated for a predetermined time in this state. If it does in this way, since high temperature drinking water flows into the cold water tank 2 from the raw | natural water pumping pipe 6, the part between the 2nd switching valve 19 of the raw | natural water pumping pipe 6 and the cold water tank 2 can be sterilized. At this time, a predetermined amount of high-temperature drinking water flows into the cold water tank 2, but the baffle plate 24 prevents stirring of the drinking water in the cold water tank 2, and the air surrounded by the hanging wall 26 of the baffle plate 24 Since the heat transfer from the upper side to the lower side of the baffle plate 24 is suppressed, the drinking water accumulated in the lower part of the cold water tank 2 is kept at a low temperature.

  By periodically performing the above sterilization operation, it is possible to sterilize the raw water pumping pipe 6 through which normal temperature drinking water flows during normal operation, and to ensure hygiene over a long period of time.

  By the way, if the water bottle 4 is of a type formed with rigidity as a whole, when the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is oriented horizontally, the drinking water in the water bottle 4 is pumped by the pump 7. It becomes difficult to pump out. On the other hand, since the water server described above employs the water bottle 4 formed with flexibility so as to shrink as the amount of remaining water decreases, the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is directed horizontally. However, the drinking water in the water bottle 4 can be pumped out by the pump 7.

  Further, since the water server described above restrains the movement of the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 by the restraining portion 72 of the bottle receiver 5, when the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is connected to the joint portion 15, it is flexible. It is possible to prevent the position of the water outlet 14 from becoming unstable due to the deformation of the water bottle 4 having the property.

  In the water server, the raw water pumping pipe 6 is provided so as to pass through a position lower than the joint portion 15, and the pump 7 is arranged in a portion lower than the joint portion 15 of the raw water pumping pipe 6. Therefore, when the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is disconnected from the joint portion 15, it is possible to prevent the drinking water remaining in the raw water pumping pipe 6 from flowing out of the joint portion 15 by its own weight. It has become.

  Moreover, since the water hole 75 of the joint part 15 is located in the comparatively low part (lower half area | region) of the joint part 15, said water server is even when the drinking water in the water bottle 4 has decreased. The drinking water can be pumped out as much as possible. Further, since the water passage hole 75 does not exist in the upper half area of the joint portion 15, when the water bottle 4 is separated from the joint portion 15, air is prevented from flowing into the joint portion 15, It is possible to prevent the drinking water inside the portion 15 from flowing out.

  Further, since the water server described above has a through hole 76 formed at the tip of the joint portion 15, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the plug body 47 is fitted to the tip portion 74 of the joint portion 15. In addition, the air surrounded between the plug 47 and the tip 74 escapes through the through hole 76 into the joint 15. Therefore, the plug body 47 can be smoothly fitted to the distal end portion 74 of the joint portion 15.

  Here, when the diameter of the through hole 76 is set to 1.0 mm or less, and more preferably 0.8 mm or less, when the water bottle 4 is separated from the joint portion 15, air is introduced into the joint portion 15 from the through hole 76. The inflow can be prevented by the surface tension of the water, and the drinking water inside the joint portion 15 can be prevented from flowing out from the water passage hole 75.

  In addition, since the water server is provided with the tapered surface 81 that guides the neck portion 43 of the water bottle 4 toward the joint portion 15 around the joint portion 15, the water bottle 4 is connected to the joint portion 15. Sometimes it is possible to make that connection reliably.

  In the above embodiment, the flange 44 is formed on the neck 43 of the water bottle 4, but the flange 44 may be formed on the cap 45 attached to the neck 43. In addition, a flange is not formed on the neck 43 of the water bottle 4, and a clamp means for gripping the neck 43 is provided in the bottle receiver 5, and the movement of the water outlet 14 of the water bottle 4 is restricted by the clamp means. Good.

  In addition, when the bottle receiver 5 is inserted into and removed from the housing 1 in the front-rear direction as in the above embodiment, the installation space of the water server can be reduced. It can also be configured to be in the left-right direction.

  In the above embodiment, when the bottle receiver 5 is pulled out from the casing 1, the water bottle 4 is separated from the raw water pumping pipe 6, and when the bottle receiver 5 is accommodated in the casing 1, the water bottle 4 is pumped into the raw water pump. The water server connected to the raising pipe 6 has been described as an example. However, as shown in FIG. 11, when the bottle receiver 5 is pulled out from the casing 1, the present invention is configured so that the water bottle 4 is fed with the raw water pumping pipe. 6 can also be applied to a water server that keeps the state connected to 6. In FIG. 11, a stretchable spiral tube is used as the raw water pumping pipe 6, but a flexible tube with sufficient slack that can follow the movement of the bottle receiver 5 is used as the raw water pumping pipe 6. It may be adopted.

4 Water bottle 5 Bottle receiver 6 Raw water pumping pipe 7 Pump 14 Water outlet 40 Body 41 Bottom 42 Shoulder 43 Neck 54 Bottle mounting plate 66 Convex 67 Slope 68 Slope

Claims (4)

A hollow cylindrical body (40) formed with flexibility so as to shrink as the amount of remaining water shrinks, a bottom (41) provided at one end of the body (40), and the body An exchangeable water bottle (4) having a neck (43) provided on the other end of the part (40) via a shoulder (42) and a water outlet (14) provided on the neck (43). )When,
A bottle receiver (5) having a bottle mounting plate (54) for supporting the body (40) of the water bottle (4) from below with the neck (43) of the water bottle (4) oriented horizontally. When,
Raw water pumping pipe (6) connected to the water outlet (14) of the water bottle (4);
A water server provided on the raw water pumping pipe (6) and having a pump (7) for pumping drinking water from the water bottle (4),
On the upper surface of the bottle mounting plate (54), when the water bottle (4) contracts, a portion of the body (40) of the water bottle (4) that contacts the bottle mounting plate (54) is folded inward. The water server characterized by providing the convex part (66) which induces this.   The water server according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion (66) is formed so as to extend across the center of the body portion (40) of the water bottle (4).   On the upper surface of the convex portion (66), a slope (67) descending from the top of the convex portion (66) to the water outlet (14) side of the water bottle (4), and a water bottle from the top of the convex portion (66). A slope (68) descending to the opposite side to the water outlet (14) of (4) is formed, and descends from the top of the convex portion (66) to the opposite side of the water outlet (14) of the water bottle (4). The water server according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an inclination angle of the slope (68) is set to 30 ° or less.   The water server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the body (40) of the water bottle (4) is formed of PET resin.

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